As we enter springtime, clouds, wind, and rain descend upon us before the sunshine of May. As the weather turns, there is nothing better than a cozy day inside, whether by yourself or with friends and family. While the current state of the world also reflects the gloomy atmosphere, a nice book can often take one away from the rigid reality. So, now is the perfect time to cozy up with a book and a mug of hot tea.
Here is a list of eight inspirational yet tragic novels that match the mood of April. You will probably be crying, shouting, and everything in between by the end of each novel.
Ayiti by Roxane Gay
In her novel, Roxane Gay offers audiences a refreshing and necessary reclamation of the perceptions of Haiti. In Ayiti, Gay’s accurate critique disabuses American biases about Haitian people. Gay follows members of the beautiful and diverse diaspora, as her nuanced writing shares the message that Haitians are not a monolith. While mindful of the word economy, Gay unpacks the messiness of humanity from Port-au-Prince to New York City.
One of the short stories found in the anthology, “Motherfuckers,” follows a schoolboy named Gérard, who deals with microaggressions and is bullied because of his race. In another, titled “About My Father’s Accent,” two sons discover that their father is discriminated against because his voice “sounded different to unkind American ears.” Gay also includes various perspectives as she writes of two women madly in love who cannot be seen romantically together due to the criminalization and social ostracization of LGBTQ+ identities. Overall, the anthology is more than just a few stories, it’s a collection of raw, life-changing experiences.
Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin
Giovanni’s Room (1956) by author and African American civil rights activist James Baldwin was considered radically controversial at the time of its publication. The novel lays bare the perennial systems of oppression and intersectionality of race and sexuality. Baldwin’s own lived experiences partially inspired Giovanni’s Room. It focuses on David, an American expatriate living in 1950s Paris who is bisexual and struggles with internalized homophobia. The story begins on the day of Giovanni’s execution, David’s secret Italian boyfriend and bartender, whom he met at a French club.
You then jump between the past and present as David recounts both his sexual encounters with men and desperate, shame-driven heteronormativity. His girlfriend, Hella, arrives for a visit from Spain, prompting even more guilt within David. The violent and unpredictable end should not be spoiled here.
Above all, Baldwin doesn’t just touch upon the safety of conformity at the sacrifice of personal tranquility, he attacks it. The anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and hate in the tragic novel persist in popular media’s need to give LGBTQ+ people a tragic ending. If you are a fan of Annie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain (1997) and Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life (2015), you will see how significant Giovanni’s Room was in acting as a blueprint for present-day LGBTQ+ literature.
A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
Etsuko is a Japanese woman who survived the disorienting aftermath of the United States dropping the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. She also serves as the unreliable narrator of A Pale View of Hills (1982) by Kazuo Ishiguro. Ishiguro’s debut opens with an older, but not yet wiser, Etsuko living in the English countryside. She is feeling remorse, pain, and guilt after Keiko, her first daughter, dies by suicide. What unfolds is an immersive, bi-continental timeline of Etsuko’s memories of Nagasaki and the decisions she made as a mother in unimaginable circumstances.
You also meet a parallel mother-daughter relationship, Sachiko and Mariko, who live across from Etsuko in a riverside cottage in Nagasaki. The once-wealthy family is now living in poverty. As they navigate the hardships of their new lifestyle and the impact of the war on their lives, the dynamic between Sachiko and her daughter Mariko becomes increasingly strained.
Ishiguro’s prose is elegant, and he communicates one universal truth: every single person has, at one point or another, questioned or regretted past choices. A Pale View integrates the forgotten dehumanization of post-World War II Japan with the somber reminder of generational trauma from war. Ishiguro himself is Japanese American. He dives beneath the surface by allowing his grand and great-grandparents’ history to inspire this mysterious, heartbreaking, and tragic novel.
Isola by Allegra Goodman
Isola (2025) by Allegra Goodman is a niche and an inspiring testimony of faith in lasting love. Marguerite, an orphaned daughter of nobility, is exiled to a deserted island because she falls in love with the wrong man. The man in question is Damienne, a servant in her new guardian’s house.
Marguerite goes from a life of bathing in wealth and privilege to a literal rock formation in the middle of the ocean with limited supplies and the expectation of death. Marguerite de la Rocque, a 16th-century French noblewoman who was marooned on Île des Démons for years, loosely served as Goodman’s inspiration.
This novel is less inherently political and controversial than the others on this list. However, Isola remains tragic as misguided classism bears the ultimate responsibility for Marguerite’s quagmire. Still, the acts and journey of Marguerite’s resilience and quiet feminism are more than satisfactory. The concept of destiny and stories of survival will captivate readers willing to dive into this tragic novel.
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
The award for penning the most vulnerable, tender, and tragic novel goes to Ocean Vuong. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (2019) is a New York Times Bestseller about Little Dog. It is in the format of a letter to his Vietnamese mother, who cannot read. The stunning, poetic depictions of Little Dog’s childhood, the brutal consequences of a false American Dream, and the unspoken emotions of a son to his mother will have tears falling onto the pages.
You will see the devastating impacts of the opioid crisis through Little Dog’s first lover and OxyContin addict, Trevor. Little Dog’s grandmother’s haunting Vietnam War flashbacks illustrate that post-traumatic stress disorder can be triggered but not as easily ignored. This letter acts as a uniquely intimate window into Little Dog’s deepest insecurities, fears, and complex love for a parent who can not express it either.
On Earth is so raw and honest that it will feel like a grotesque violation of privacy when reading. You will have forgotten that Little Dog and his mother are not real people by the time you close the cover. Rather, they are characters Vuong uses to represent many aspects of the Vietnamese immigrant experience and cultural nuance. Vuong detailing Little Dog’s reactions to his abusive mother and his relationship with Trevor is not a lecture. It is a healing and love-infused investigation into masculinity and vulnerability. Vuong takes you on a journey where you may see a bit of yourself reflected in every character.
This is a Love Story by Jessica Soffer
This is a Love Story (2025) by Jessica Soffer is deceivingly uplifting yet lyrical and heartfelt. It is most reminiscent of past tales such as The Notebook (1996) by Nicholas Sparks. But make no mistake, Soffer complicates and modernizes this formerly overdone narrative by crafting a colorful mosaic of what it means to grow old with someone you love.
In Love Story, you witness the ups and downs and mundane habits of Abe and his wife, Jane, who is dying from cancer. Abe and Jane met in Central Park 50 years prior, and the Park becomes a character in its own right. The couple’s relationship trajectory, beginning with courtship, is told from various perspectives, including the Park. Max, the son, also functions as a critique of love as he wrestles with the resentment that his mother chose art over him.
The rare endurance of partnership is on full display in Love Story without shying away from the difficulties that accompany it. The tragic novel serves as a cathartic break from a tumultuous 24-hour news cycle and a reminder to try to be grateful for the little things amidst great loss or the unknown.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) by Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez is an otherworldly 417-page epic. Echoing the structure of a Greek Tragedy, the whole tragic novel takes place in the fictional town of Macondo, Colombia. The novel begins with Jose Arcadio Buendia and his wife Ursula Iguaran founding Macondo. Their initial motivation is to break the cycle of incest in their old small town.
You then follow the upbringing and lives of the Buendia children, Aureliano, Jose Arcadio, Amaranta, and future generations. The lens of this divided family also gives readers insight into the changes in the town and how characters have lizard-like features and are living well past the average human age.
Márquez masterfully blends elements of dream-like mythicism with the turmoil and unconditional love of family. He utilizes melodic storytelling to convey the unmistakable strength of ‘the matriarch’ in family dynamics and his Colombian heritage. The metaphoric and literal ideal and function of “solitude” or peace for different characters remains aspirational to real life. If you have the patience and time to reach “The End,” Márquez will surely reward you with a satisfying denouement.
One Day by David Nicholls
One Day (2009) by David Nicholls is a romantic tale with the heft of regret backing its main characters. Emma and Dexter meet at their graduation on July 15, 1988, which is where their story begins. The rest of the novel takes place over two decades, as each chapter is a snapshot of their relationship on July 15 of each subsequent year.
In One Day, you read everything from passionate squabbles and missed opportunities to warm-hearted moments in this couple’s life. Dexter is conventionally handsome and from a wealthy family, while Emma is independent and self-made. She initially believes the former is superficial. The archetypes of both show how opposites can and do attract.
The passing of time and how people can simultaneously evolve together yet be independent of one another is crucial to the success of One Day. To conclude, One Day is a brave concept with Nicholls putting faith into readers that his sweet and accessible writing is enough to keep you turning the page.
From historical fiction to magical realism, this list of tragic novels hopefully has something for every reader. In a time of being overwhelmed and stressed, it can be healthy to release a strong cry. If stories and tales of love and heartbreak, strife, and struggles, such as the ones on this list, can get the tears flowing, go ahead and dive right in.
